GODMANCHESTER, England - (5 June 2007) -
Phytopharm plc (LSE: PYM) ("Phytopharm" or the "Company") announces
today pre-clinical data showing that Cogane(tm) reverses the
changes in the area of the brain involved in Parkinson's disease.
This data will be presented by Dr Jonathan Brotchie, an
internationally recognised expert on Parkinson's disease at 'The
11th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement
Disorders' 5 June in Istanbul, Turkey and published in The Movement
Disorders Society's journal*.

Cogane(tm) reverses the changes in area of the brain involved in
Parkinson's disease by inducing the production of neurotrophic
factors. These growth factors promote the growth and connectivity
of neurones and reverse the atrophy of this area of the brain. This
latest study was partly funded by The Cure Parkinson's Trust.

Commenting, Tom Isaacs, co-founder of The Cure Parkinson's Trust
said: "Cogane's ability to induce a person's own neurotrophic
activity offers a very real prospect of a better treatment for
Parkinson's disease. As a patient led organisation, The Cure
Parkinson's Trust is very excited about the potential of this
product to completely restore motor function to those with the
condition. We are delighted our targeted fund allocation in this
area of research has been directly involved in these latest
findings."

Commenting, Dr Daryl Rees, Chief Executive Officer of
Phytopharm, said: "There is an urgent need for new therapeutic
approaches to Parkinson's disease. Pre-clinical studies with
Cogane(tm), an orally bioavailable neurotrophic factor inducer,
have been highly encouraging in reversing the changes in the area
of the brain involved in Parkinson's disease, providing hope that
Cogane(tm) could restore normal control of movement."

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

Phytopharm plc

Phytopharm is a pharmaceutical development and functi
onal food
company whose product leads are generated from medicinal plants.
The Company's strategy is to develop these products through 'proof
of principle' clinical testing, and then secure partners for late
stage development, sales and marketing. Laboratory, manufacturing
and clinical work is outsourced to selected specialists, operating
under expert in-house management. This operational structure allows
access to the best external research facilities whilst maintaining
low fixed overheads and a lower development cost structure.

Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder characterised by
muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement
(bradykinesia) and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement
(akinesia). The primary symptoms are the result of altered
signaling of an area of the brain, the striatum, responsible for
the control of movement. This is caused by degeneration of
dopaminergic neurones between the striatum and the substantia nigra
part of the brain leading to insufficient formation and action of
dopamine. Parkinson's disease is therefore termed a
neurodegenerative disease. The disease is slow in onset and the
appearance of symptoms reflects the gradual loss of dopaminergic
neurones.

The prevalence of the disease is estimat
ed to be 100 to 200 per
100,000 population (Source: Datamonitor). In the US alone, there
are estimated to be one million patients with diagnosed Parkinson's
disease with associated healthcare costs to the economy of $25
billion (Source: Northwest Parkinson's Foundation submission to US
Congress). Parkinson's disease can affect people of any age, though
the incidence is higher in older people. Individuals will
experience varying combinations of the symptoms, each with
differing degrees of severity. The cause of Parkinson's disease in
the majority of cases is unknown (idiopathic Parkinson's disease),
though some cases have been found to have a hereditary component
(familial Parkinson's disease) and possible mechanisms include
oxidative damage of nerve cells coupled with loss of neurotrophic
factors. Neurotrophic factors are essential for the survival and
maintenance of nerve cells and provide protection against toxic
insults, however as proteins, their utility as pharmacological
treatments are limited (Source: The Cure Parkinson's Trust).

At present, there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, but a variety
of medications provide relief from the symptoms, usually by
dopamine replacement therapy either by L-DOPA, which is converted
to dopamine in the striatum, or by dopamine agonists which act on
the dopamine receptors to restore normal motor function (control of
movement). However, both treatments cause either less endogenous
dopamine to be released or the dopamine receptors to become
progressively less sensitive, thereby eventually increasing the
symptoms. There is an urgent need for the development of new
approaches to this debilitating condition and non-peptide orally
bioavailable neurotrophic factor inducers that readily cross the
blood brain barrier represent an important therapeutic
approach.

Dr Jonathan Brotchie is Senior Scientist at the Toronto Western
Hospital, part of the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto,
Canada. He is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Atuka
Ltd., a contract research and consultancy services company for the
development of novel therapeutics and diagnostics for Parkinson's
disease. Jonathan is a renowned scientist in the field of
Parkinson's disease and, at UHN runs one of the world's premier
research laboratories for the identification of novel treatments,
diagnostics and cures for Parkinson's and related disorders. In the
last decade, he has published many influential scientific papers in
the field of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. His
research has been particularly associated with pioneering the
concept of non-dopaminergic treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Jonathan is also Scientific Director of the Cure Parkinson's
Trust, a charity supporting research aimed at delivering better
treatments and cures for PD.

The Cure Parkinson's Trust

The Cure Parkinson's Trust supported by Movers & Shakers was
co-founded by four individuals with Parkinson's who are determined
to do everything in their power to help find a cure for this
debilitating neurological disease. They are former Lord Mayor of
London, Sir Richard Nichols, David Jones CBE, former chairman of
Next Plc, Michael Hughes and Tom Isaacs.

Parkinson's disease can affect anyone at any time. It does not
discriminate by age, sex or nationality. One in every 500 people,
contracts Parkinson's, with one in every 20 of those diagnosed each
year being under the age of 40 years. A cure for Parkinson's
disease is within reach.

The Cure Parkinson's Trust has been funding a variety of research
projects globally. For further details see: www.cureparkinsons.org.uk

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